Anne Frank, Arab-Jewish relations, karaoke in focus at upcoming Israeli film awards

By Jessica Steinberg - August 11, 2022

The Ophir Awards, Israel’s version of the Academy Awards, will be held on September 18.

The nominated films were chosen by the Israeli Academy of Film and Television from a selection of 95 movies of all different genres, a record number of entries for the awards competition.

The competing features nominated in the Best Film category are Ari Folman’s “Where Is Anne Frank?” his 2021 animated film narrated by Kitty, Frank’s imaginary friend from her diary; “Karaoke,” in which a middle-aged couple gets to know their neighbor through his karaoke parties; “Cinema Sabaya,” with takes eight Arab and Jewish women through a film workshop; “Valeria is Getting Married,” which tells the tale of two Ukrainian sisters, one who married an Israeli and the other who is about to do the same; and “35 Downhill,” about a son and his estranged, kibbutz-dwelling father traveling across Israel on a tractor.

Read More: Times of Israel

Amid war, Israel sees threefold increase in immigration from Russia and Ukraine

(Photo: Naga Malasa)

By TOI Staff - August 11, 2022

Immigration to Israel from Ukraine and Russia tripled in the months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, the Central Bureau of Statistics announced Wednesday.

Between February 24, when the invasion began, and July 31, 12,175 immigrants arrived from Ukraine and 18,891 arrived from Russia, a total of 31,066 over the five-month period. Approximately half the Ukrainian immigrants arrived between March and April, the bureau said.

This figure marks a 318 percent increase over the same period in 2019, when 2,651 immigrants arrived from Ukraine and 7,123 from Russia, the CBS noted, for a total of 9,774 (2019 was used due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the next two years).

Read More: Times of Israel

Saudi Arabia, UAE criticize Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket attack on Israel

(August 9, 2022 / JNS) Following the military conflict between the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and Israel from Aug. 5-7, criticism was leveled in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates against the terror organization entrenched in the Gaza Strip, appearing in both the press and social media.

According to a report by MEMRI, critics claimed, among other things, that the PIJ is an Iranian proxy organization acting for the benefit of Iranian interests and thus inflicting suffering on Gaza residents. Further, they argued that the conflict erupted due to Iran’s desire to expedite nuclear talks in Vienna. One writer criticized the launch of Iranian missiles from within the civilian population in Gaza.

Elements in Saudi Arabia and the UAE also mocked recent statements by commanders of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warning that Israel would pay a high price for its crimes in Gaza and that Hezbollah would strike Israel hard when the time was right. They questioned why Iran was not following through on its threats.

Read More: JNS

15 Israeli startups introduced to opportunities in Bahrain

By Abigail Klein Leichman - August 8, 2022

Start-Up National Central, a Tel Aviv-based nonprofit organization that promotes Israeli innovation around the world, recently introduced 15 Israeli startups to significant business opportunities in Bahrain, with which Israel established diplomatic ties nearly two years ago.

The joint event with the Embassy of the Kingdom of Bahrain in Israel and Bahrain’s Economic Development Board presented the opportunity for the Israeli companies to set up regional R&D centers in Bahrain.

The Gulf country, which offers low operating costs and significant labor subsidies, is interested in startups that can provide technological advancements to Bahrain and make a huge impact on the economy and employment.

Read More: Israel21c

Iron Dome at 97% success rate after 580 rockets fired from Gaza since Friday

(Photo: Jack Guez/AFP)

By TOI Staff - August 7, 2022

The Iron Dome missile defense system has achieved a 97 percent success rate intercepting incoming rockets, amid almost non-stop barrages launched by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group since Friday, the Israel Defense Forces said Sunday.

The Sunday morning IDF data put the number of rockets and mortars launched toward Israel since Friday evening at 580. Iron Dome, which is used when the incoming projectile is headed for populated areas, intercepted 200 of them.

In addition, 120 projectiles fell short and landed in the Gaza Strip.

Read More: Times of Israel

Southern Israel residents spend night in shelters amid intermittent Gaza rocket fire

(Photo: AP/Fatima Shbair)

By TOI Staff and Emanuel Fabian - August 6, 2022

Residents in southern Israel spent the night in bomb shelters as rocket fire from the Gaza Strip continued to target Israeli communities near the Palestinian enclave overnight Friday-Saturday.

Rocket sirens were heard intermittently across southern Israeli cities and towns into the wee hours, as the Israeli military continued to carry out airstrikes in the Strip targeting Palestinian Islamic Jihad weapons sites and launching positions.

Sirens were heard in Sderot, Kissufim, Nir Am, Nahal Oz, Kfar Aza, Nitzamin, and Kerem Shalom, all near the Palestinian enclave.

The Israel Defense Forces said air force jets struck a number of weapons-making sites run by terror group Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), including a facility that produces materials used in rockets launched into Israel and another site that develops mortar shells.

An unspecified number of PIJ rocket-launching positions were also struck, the military said. The army posted footage from a strike on the rocket facility, and a video from the hit on a PIJ launching position.

Read More: Times of Israel

Israel’s Blessing Afrifah wins gold in 200m dash at under-20 world championship

(Photo: Joaquin Sarmiento/AFP)

By Michael Horovitz - August 5, 2022

Israeli sprinter Blessing Afrifah won a surprise gold medal in the men’s 200-meter race at the under-20s World Athletic Championships in Colombia on Thursday, setting a new championship record.

Afrifah, 18, beat Letsile Tebogo of Botswana — the favorite to win — by six-thousandths of a second, finishing the race in 19.96 seconds and winning the second gold medal ever for Israel at the championship.

The victory marks a new championship record and only the fourth time in history that a sprinter under the age of 20 has finished a 200-meter race in under 20 seconds. It was also the first race in which two under 20 athletes both finished under 20 seconds.

Read More: Times of Israel

Flight to Israel crosses Saudi airspace for 1st time since kingdom opened its skies

(AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

By TOI Staff - August 4, 2022

A commercial flight bound for Israel entered Saudi airspace on Thursday for the first time since Saudi Arabia opened its skies to all flights, including Israeli ones, last month.

The flight operated by Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific airline took off from Hong Kong and was set to land in Tel Aviv on Thursday morning.

A flight tracking service showed the plane flying over the United Arab Emirates and the Persian Gulf before crossing over the Saudi coastline near the city of Damman. The plane flew over northern Saudi Arabia and Jordan, and entered Israeli territory north of the Dead Sea.

Read More: Times of Israel

Israel's Ramon Airport to open for Palestinian passengers - report

(Photo: Amir Cohen / Reuters)

By Mohammad Al-Kassim / The Media Line

An Israeli plan permitting Palestinian travelers to fly out of one of its airports has received official approval. A first charter flight of passengers from the West Bank is set to leave from Ramon International Airport near Eilat in southern Israel later this month.

Amir Assi, of Al-Amir Group, told The Media Line that after meeting with Israeli civil administration officials on Monday he was given the nod to advertise for a pilot program to fly the first charter plane to Antalya, Turkey for only Palestinian passengers mainly from the southern West Bank.

“For the plan to succeed and (to ensure) the security concerns are addressed, we chose to allow travelers to carry with them the minimum,” Assi said.

The first charter flight will take place on Sunday, August 21.

Assi explains that the focus to find travelers at first will be on Bethlehem and Hebron in the southern West Bank, because the distance is relatively shorter to the remote airport.

Read More: Jerusalem Post

As the Holocaust raged, US newspapers buried reports on Hitler’s Final Solution

By Matt Lebovic - July 29, 2022

On June 29, 1942, the Chicago Daily Tribune devoted one paragraph to Germany’s “Final Solution” in Europe:

“The British section of the World Jewish Congress estimated today that more than 1,000,000 Jews have been killed or have died as the result of ill treatment in countries dominated by Germany,” read an Associated Press brief on page six.

Like other US newspapers that summer, the Daily Tribune allocated a bare minimum of inches to reporting on the annihilation of Europe’s Jews. Literally burying the story, dailies placed news of the slaughter away from their front pages — and usually mixed in among other news briefs.

“If the news in June 1942 about 1 million Jews being slaughtered was considered sufficiently credible to publish, then according to conventional editorial standards, it should have been treated as front-page news or something close to it,” said Rafael Medoff, author of the book “America and the Holocaust: A Documentary History,” published this year.

Like the Chicago Daily Tribune, The Los Angeles Times published the “1 million killed” Associated Press brief at the end of June. However, the milestone in Germany’s “Final Solution” was placed on page three, underneath a story about British soldiers taken captive by Germany: “Nazis Kill Million Jews, Says Survey.”

Read More: Times of Israel

Zelensky’s wife to Israeli TV: ‘Your resilience serves as an example for us’

By TOI Staff - August 1, 2022

Olena Zelenska, the wife of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said her nation sees Israel as a source of inspiration for resilience given its history of facing attacks from its neighbors.

“It is not an exaggeration to say that Israel’s past experience inspires the citizens of Ukraine,” Zelenska told Channel 12 news in an interview.

“We see the Israelis’ strength and power of resilience in the difficult situation Israel has been in for many years. Your resilience serves as an example for us,” she said in the interview, which was conducted through a remote video connection.

Read More: Times of Israel

Saudi magazine showcases success of Israeli Arabs in IDF

By JNS - July 25, 2022

(July 25, 2022 / JNS) A feature article in the Saudi monthly magazine Al-Majallah covered the topic of Israeli Arabs who serve in the Israel Defense Forces.

According to the lengthy essay by Kurdish-Swedish journalist and researcher Suzan Quitaz, who specializes in Israeli politics and the Gulf States region, more Muslim and Christian Arabs are enlisting in the IDF due to its successful recruitment strategies and mindset.

The article begins by noting the misconception prevalent in the media about the IDF’s composition, and that it is, in fact, not only Jewish but also incorporates members from across Israeli society, including Arab soldiers—Muslims and Christians, Druze and Bedouin—as noted in a report by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).

Read More: JNS

Magdala Stone in Israel’s Galilee an ‘Oasis of Encounter’ with Christian, Jewish History

By Julie Stahl - July 29, 2022

JERUSALEM, Israel – A unique stone from an unearthed synagogue where Jesus could have prayed has returned to its home in the Galilee and the Magdala stone is expected to be a special draw for visitors.

Deemed by experts as one of Israel’s most important discoveries, the Magdala stone spent years with the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) and then went on an international tour with showings in New York and Rome.

“I, myself, with some other workers here, put [the stone] in the truck that [removes] it from the site. So, I said, ‘Bye, see you soon’ to the stone in the beginning of January 2010. So, to see the stone coming back today is a big joy,” said Father Juan Solana, Director of the Magdala center.

Dozens gathered recently at the Magdala Center Hotel for the return of the Magdala Stone.

Read More: CBN

World’s largest ER opens in Israel, raising bar for tech and scale in emergency med

By Nathan Jeffay - July 28, 2022

With self-triage upon check-in and robots to help you find your way, the world’s largest emergency room opened in Israel on Thursday.

The 8,000 square meter (86,000 square foot) facility, at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov), was inaugurated by President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Yair Lapid, Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz, and philanthropist Sylvan Adams.

The facility was designed for both regular emergency needs and a sudden influx of casualties from war and terror. There are 100 inpatient emergency beds, more than any other Israeli hospital, and this can be doubled in an emergency scenario.

Read More: Times of Israel

Bronze coin dating back nearly 2,000 years found on Israeli beach

(Photo: Menahem Kahana / AFP)

By i24News - July 25, 2022

It was the first time such relic was found in Israeli waters

A bronze Roman-era coin dating back 1,850 years was discovered in the Carmel Beach in Haifa, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) said Monday.

The coin was minted in Egypt’s Alexandria during the reign of Emperor Antoninus Pius, according to The Jerusalem Post. Israeli archaeologists discovered it in the water as part of a survey of the beach area.

Read More: i24News

Government inks plan to clean part of Jordan River, make it fit for swimming again

(AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

By Sue Surkes - July 26, 2022

The government has approved an ambitious plan to clean up a substantial stretch of the Jordan River, restore its once abundant nature, and develop tourism along its banks.

The segment of river to undergo rehabilitation, all of which is located within Israeli territory, runs from the Sea of Galilee to the point where the river meets the Bezek Stream, around 37 kilometers (23 miles) to the south. The plan was approved Sunday.

South of the Bezek Stream, the river starts to define the Israeli-Jordanian border.

Read More: Times of Israel

Holocaust memorials in Buchenwald and Berlin vandalized in same week

(Photo: Stiftg. Gedenkstätten Buchenwald u. Mittelbau-Dora)

By Cnaan Liphshiz - July 22, 2022

(JTA) — In the same week, sets of unidentified individuals cut down trees planted to commemorate Holocaust victims near the former Nazi camp of Buchenwald in Germany and drew swastikas were onto one of the concrete slabs of Berlin’s Holocaust memorial.

Near Buchenwald, the perpetrators on Tuesday sawed off the tops of seven trees planted along a road that used to lead to the camp, the DPA news agency reported.

The trees were planted earlier this year as part of a commemorative project titled “1,000 beeches for Buchenwald,” through which relatives of some of the victims murdered there planted dozens of trees commemorating their families across the campground.

Read More: JTA

Ukrainian Experts Turn to Israel for Mental Trauma Training

By Associated Press - July 22, 2022

Ukrainian therapist Svitlana Kutsenko thought she was making progress with her patients — army veterans recovering from mental trauma suffered during fighting with Russia in 2014. Then, war erupted again.

Now, five months after Russia invaded Ukraine, Kutsenko says the situation looks bleaker than ever. Many of her patients have returned to the front lines, while ordinary citizens scarred by the horrors of life in wartime are now seeking treatment.

"Sometimes it's bearable, sometimes it's not," Kutsenko, who lives in Kyiv, told The Associated Press. "Some people are suffering from huge fear — fear of death, fear of their relatives' death and some are pretty angry about what's going on and they want to somehow take this anger under control."

Kutsenko was among 20 Ukrainian mental health professionals who spent the past two weeks in Israel receiving training on how to treat trauma cases.

Israel, which has gone through several wars with its Arab neighbors and has a large population of Holocaust survivors, has deep experience in treating psychological or mental trauma.

Read More: VOA

Elevator project at the Western Wall unearths an ancient archaeological trove

AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo

By Ilan Ben Zion- July 20, 2022

AP– Installing an elevator doesn’t normally involve a 2,000-year plunge into an ancient city’s history. But in Jerusalem, even seemingly simple construction projects can lead to archaeological endeavors.

Archaeologists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem say they have made numerous discoveries, including an ornate first-century villa with its own ritual bath, after a project began to increase access for disabled people to Jerusalem’s Western Wall.

The villa, located steps from where the biblical Jewish Temples stood, was uncovered during several years of salvage excavations in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem’s historic Old City.

Archaeologists perform salvage excavations to make a scientific study of ancient artifacts and buildings before they are removed to make way for modern construction.

Jerusalem’s Western Wall is the holiest site where Jews can pray and millions of worshipers and tourists visit it each year. But to get to the site from the adjacent Jewish Quarter, visitors typically have to descend 142 steps, or take a long detour around the city walls to one of the nearby gates.

Read More: Times of Israel

New Archaeological Discoveries Confirm Ancient Connection of Israel to the Jewish People

(Photo: Assaf Peretz / Israel Antiquities Authority)

By Chaim Lax - July 11, 2022

The State of Israel might only be 74 years old, but the Land of Israel contains thousands of years worth of history inside it. Every year, archaeologists working at digs around the country discover ancient sites and artifacts that help us better understand the rich history of both the land and its inhabitants.

The following is a list of the top 10 archaeological discoveries from June 2021 until today:

1. Mosaic Depicting Deborah and Yael Defeating Canaanite King Sisera

Discovered at the site of a 5th-century synagogue in the Galilean town of Huqoq, this mosaic portrays the Biblical account of the defeat of the Canaanite king Sisera at the hands of the prophetess Deborah, the military leader Barak, and the ancient heroine Yael.

Unearthed by a team led by UNC Chapel Hill professor Jodi Magness, this is the latest mosaic to be discovered at the ancient synagogue site. Previously discovered mosaics include depictions of Jonah and the whale, the Israelite spies in Canaan, Noah’s Arc, and the parting of the Red Sea. According to Magness, these mosaics “attest to a rich visual culture as well as to the dynamism and diversity of Judaism in the late Roman and Byzantine periods.”

Read More: Algemeiner